System and methods for dynamic creation of a geofence for a location

ABSTRACT

The present teachings relate to a method of creating a geofence for a first location comprising receiving a time that a first vehicle was at the first location from a fleet management system, receiving a time that the first vehicle was at a second location from an on-board telematics unit of the first vehicle, determining if the first vehicle was at the second location for a predetermined period of time before or after being at the first location, and creating the geofence for the first location as including the second location if it is determined that the first vehicle was at the second location for the predetermined period of time before or after being at the first location.

FIELD

The present application relates to systems and methods for identifyingand utilizing correlations between telematics data and data from a fleetmanagement system. This correlation in combination with machine learningyields insights of interest and automated processes for reducing theoperational expenditure of managing a fleet of vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telematics, in a broad sense, is any integrated use oftelecommunications with information and communications technology. It isthe technology of sending, receiving and storing information relating toremote objects, such as vehicles, via telecommunication devices.

Vehicle telematics can help improve the efficiency of an organization.Practical applications include fleet management. Fleet management is themanagement of a company's fleet of vehicles. Fleet management includesthe management of motor vehicles such as cars, vans and trucks. Fleet(vehicle) Management can include a range of Fleet Management functions,such as vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics(tracking and diagnostics), driver management, fuel management, healthand safety management and dynamic vehicle scheduling. Fleet Managementis a function which allows companies which rely on transportation intheir business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicleinvestment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing theiroverall transportation costs, providing 100% compliance with governmentlegislation and Duty of Care obligations. These functions can either bedealt with by an in-house Fleet Management department or an outsourcedFleet Management provider.

Employing telematics for a vehicle fleet usually involves theinstallation of an on-board unit in each automobile that communicateswith the automobile controls, network and Telematics Service Provider(TSP) to provide Telematics features. This conventional architecture 100is shown in FIG. 1. Vehicles 101 and 102 include respective on On-BoardUnits 104 and 105. The On-Board Units 104, 105 are installed in thevehicles 101, 102 to collect data from the vehicles and provide the datato the Telematics Service Provider 106. Any telecommunications network107 (GSM, GPRS, Wi-Fi, WiMax, or L TE)) can be used to provide data theTSP 106.

As is known in the art, an OBU 104, 105 may include a global positioningsystem (GPS) unit, which keeps track of the latitude and longitudevalues of the vehicle; an external interface for mobile communication(GSM, GPRS, Wi-Fi, WiMax, or L TE), which provides the tracked values toa centralized geographical information system (GIS) database server; anelectronic processing unit; a microcontroller, in some versions; amicroprocessor or field programmable gate array (FPGA), which processesthe information and acts on the interface between the GPS; a mobilecommunication unit; and some amount of memory for saving GPS values incase of mobile-free zones or to intelligently store information aboutthe vehicle's sensor data.

Telematics is becoming particularly important to the rental vehicleindustry. The Industry is changing due to the implementation oftelematics at the core of rent-a-car companies. The trend started a fewyears ago in the U.S. and is now expanding to Europe and Latin Americawhere the big players are deploying, or at least analyzing telematics asa driving force to increase efficiency and productivity. The benefits oftelematics for the rent-a-car business can be split in to two mainareas—benefits focused on efficiency and benefits focused on revenuegeneration.

-   -   The following is a list of some of the unnecessary costs        incurred by the rental industry due to inefficiencies in fleet        management:—        -   High insurance costs for rental companies            -   Unable to detect insurance fraud            -   Unable to detect drivers with poor driving records    -   Fleet check inefficiencies        -   Manually performing a fleet check is error prone        -   Costly in terms of time to perform fleet check and fix            errors    -   Check in/out errors        -   Missed damage results in lost revenue.        -   Wrong mileage leads to incorrect charges and poor customer            experience        -   Inaccurate Fuel Charges    -   Vehicle Theft        -   Unable to detect vehicle theft until it is too late to            recover    -   Increase utilization        -   Cut downtime and turnaround time        -   Reduce customer wait times

In general, telematics opens a wide range of almost unlimitedoptimization opportunities for vehicle fleet management. In everyvehicle fleet, regardless of size, there are many opportunities tocontrol costs and reduce operational expenses. These opportunities canbe identified using a combination of telematics data, rental data,business intelligence and big data analytics. Currently there are nosolutions on the market that leverage telematics data, fleet managementdata and business intelligence to reduce the costs and improve theefficiency of managing a fleet of vehicles. The present teachingsaddresses these deficiencies in the prior art.

SUMMARY

According to the present invention there is provided a method ofcreating a geofence for a first location comprising receiving a timethat a first vehicle was at the first location from a fleet managementsystem, receiving a time that the first vehicle was at a second locationfrom an on-board telematics unit of the first vehicle, determining ifthe first vehicle was at the second location for a predetermined periodof time before or after being at the first location, and creating thegeofence for the first location as including the second location if itis determined that the first vehicle was at the second location for thepredetermined period of time before or after being at the firstlocation. The determining may comprise increasing a confidence level ofthe second location being within the geofence of the first location ifthe first vehicle was at the second location for a predetermined periodof time before or after being at the first location.

Optionally, creating the geofence for the first location as includingthe second location occurs when the confidence level reaches apredetermined threshold.

The method may further comprise maintaining the confidence level of thesecond location being within the geofence of the first location asunchanged if the first vehicle was stationary at the second location forless than the predetermined period of time.

Optionally, a confidence level that a third location is part of thegeofence is decreased if the first vehicle has not remained at the thirdlocation for a predetermined duration of time within a predeterminedwindow of time.

The method may involve the third location being removed from thegeofence if the confidence level that a third location is part of thegeofence has decreased below a predetermined threshold.

The method may further comprise receiving a time that a second vehiclewas at the first location from a fleet management system, receiving atime that the second vehicle was at the second location from an on-boardtelematics unit of the second vehicle, determining if the second vehiclewas at the second location for a predetermined period of time before orafter being at the first location, and increasing the confidence levelof the second location being within the geofence of the first locationif the second vehicle was at the second location for a predeterminedperiod of time before or after being at the first location.

Optionally, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are differentvehicles. Alternatively, the first vehicle and the second vehicle arethe same vehicle.

Optionally, the first location and the second location are the samelocation. Alternatively, the first location and the second location aredifferent locations.

The method may further comprise receiving a user input adding a locationto the geofence.

The method may further comprise receiving a user input deleting alocation from the geofence.

Optionally, the fleet management system is vehicle rental system.

Optionally, the location of the first vehicle and/or second vehicle isperiodically received from the respective on-board telematics unit.

Optionally, receiving a time that a first vehicle was at the firstlocation from a fleet management system occurs when a rental contract isopened for the vehicle by the fleet management system

Optionally, receiving a time that a first vehicle was at the firstlocation from a fleet management system occurs when a rental contract isclosed for the vehicle by the fleet management system.

The present teachings also relate to a computer readable medium havingstored thereon a program, which when executed by a computer, performsthe above outlined method of creating a geofence for a first location.

A system configured to perform the above outlined method of creating ageofence for a first location is also envisaged.

According to the present invention there is also provided a method ofassociating an on-board telematics unit with a vehicle comprisingreceiving time and location data for the vehicle from a fleet managementsystem, receiving time and location data for the on-board telematicsunit from the on-board telematics unit, comparing the time and locationdata for the vehicle with the time and location data for the on-boardunit to determine if they correspond, and associating the on-boardtelematics unit with the vehicle if it is determined that there iscorrespondence between the time and location data for the vehicle andthe time and location data for the on-board unit.

The aforementioned comparing may comprise increasing a confidence levelthat the on-board telematics unit is associated with the vehicle if itis determined that a time and location of the vehicle corresponds to atime and location of the on-board unit correspond.

The comparing step may also comprise decreasing the confidence level ifit is determined that a time and location of the vehicle does notcorrespond to a time and location of the on-board unit.

The method may further comprise associating the on-board telematics unitwith the vehicle if the confidence level reaches a predeterminedthreshold. The predetermined threshold may be a predetermined integer.

Optionally, associating the on-board telematics unit with the vehiclecomprises disassociating the on-board telematics unit with a secondvehicle.

Disassociating the on-board telematics unit with a second vehicle maycomprises, comparing time and location data for the second vehicle withtime and location data for the on-board unit to determine if theycorrespond, and disassociating the on-board telematics unit with thesecond vehicle if it is determined that there is not correspondencebetween the time and location data for the second vehicle and the timeand location data for the on-board unit.

Optionally, associating the on-board telematics unit with the vehiclemay comprise processing all telematics data from the on-board telematicsunit as indicating a time and location of the vehicle

Increasing the confidence level may involve increasing the level by afactor of one. Decreasing the confidence level may comprise decreasingthe level by a factor of one.

Optionally, the time and location of the vehicle is received from afleet management system when an electronic record is created for thevehicle on the fleet management system.

Receiving time and location data for the vehicle from the fleetmanagement system may comprise receiving a vehicle identification numberfor the vehicle.

Receiving the time and location for the on-board telematics unit fromthe onboard telematics unit may comprise receiving an identificationnumber for the onboard telematics unit.

Optionally, receiving a time and location of the on-board telematicsunit from the on-board telematics unit occurs periodically.

According to the present invention there is also provided a systemconfigured to perform the above outlined method of associating anon-board telematics unit with a vehicle.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon a program, which whenexecuted by a computer, performs the above outlined method ofassociating an onboard telematics unit with a vehicle is also envisaged.

The present teachings also describe a method for detecting a malfunctionof an on-board telematics unit associated with a vehicle, this methodmay comprise the steps of receiving time and location information from afleet management system, identifying the vehicle at a first location ata first time, receiving time and location information from a fleetmanagement system identifying the vehicle at a second location at asecond time, and logging a malfunction of the on-board telematics unitif it is determined that time and position data has not been receivedfrom the unit between the first time and the second time.

The method of any one of claims further comprising sending anotification of the malfunction to the fleet management system if it isdetermined that time and position data has not been received from theunit between the first time and the second time.

The method according to claim 1 further comprising sending aninstruction to the on-board telematics unit to take a remedial action ifit is determined that time and position data has not been received fromthe unit between the first time and the second time

Optionally, the remedial action comprises at least one of updating theon-board unit, upgrading the on-board unit, resetting the on-board unitand restarting the onboard unit.

The method may further comprise sending a notification to the fleetmanagement system if it is determined that position data has not beenreceived from the on board unit a predetermined time after sending theinstruction to the onboard telematics unit to take a remedial action.

The method may further comprise sending an instruction to take analternative remedial action if it is determined that position data hasnot been received from the on board unit a predetermined time aftersending the instruction to the on-board telematics unit to take theoriginal remedial action.

The first location and second location may be the same location.Alternatively, the first and second location may be different locations.

The receiving time and location information from a fleet managementsystem may occur when the vehicle is assigned a task. The task may bethe assignment of the vehicle to a rental contract.

The receiving time and location information from a fleet managementsystem may occur when an assignment of a vehicle to a task is completed.For example, when a rental contract for the vehicle is closed orterminated.

According to the present invention there is also provided a systemconfigured to perform the above outlined method of detecting amalfunction of an on-board telematics unit.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon a program, which whenexecuted by a computer, performs the above outlined method of detectinga malfunction of an on-board telematics unit is also envisaged.

According to the present teachings there is also provided a method formaintaining a vehicle stock report for a first location, the vehiclestock report listing all vehicles that are associated with the firstlocation, the method comprising receiving an assignment of a vehiclefrom a fleet management system, determining from the assignment of thevehicle that the vehicle should be within a predetermined geofence apredetermined time after assignment of the vehicle, receiving a time andlocation of the vehicle from an on board unit of the vehicle,determining if the location of the vehicle is within the predeterminedgeofence within the predetermined time, and updating the stock reportbased on the result of determining if the location of the vehicle iswithin the predetermined geofence within the predetermined time.

Optionally, the time and location of the vehicle is receivedperiodically from the on board unit.

Optionally, updating the stock report comprises recording the vehiclelocation as inconsistent with the predetermined geofence if the locationof the vehicle is not within the predetermined geofence within thepredetermined time.

Optionally, updating the stock report comprises recording the vehiclelocation as consistent with the predetermined geofence if the locationof the vehicle is within the predetermined geofence within thepredetermined time.

The method may further comprise updating the stock report with thepredetermined geofence for the vehicle when the geofence for the vehicleis determined from the assignment.

The method may further comprise updating the stock report with the timeand location of the vehicle when the time and location are received fromthe on board unit of the vehicle.

Optionally, the first location is within the predetermined geofence.Alternatively, the first location is outside the predetermined geofence.

Optionally, the determining from the assignment of the vehicle comprisesdetermining that the vehicle should be within a geofence associated withthe first location a predetermined time after assignment of the vehicle.

Optionally, determining from the assignment of the vehicle comprisesdetermining that the vehicle should be within a geofence not associatedwith the first location a predetermined time after assignment of thevehicle.

The received assignment of the vehicle may indicate that a rentalcontract has been opened for the vehicle. Alternatively, the receivedassignment of the vehicle may indicate that a rental contract has beenclosed for the vehicle.

The method may further comprise outputting the stock report to agraphical user interface.

Optionally, determining if the location of the vehicle is within thepredetermined geofence within the predetermined time is performedperiodically.

According to the present invention there is also provided a systemconfigured to perform the above outlined method of maintaining a vehiclestock report for a first location.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon a program, which whenexecuted by a computer, performs the above outlined method ofmaintaining a vehicle stock report for a first location is alsoenvisaged.

The present teachings also relate to a method for detecting vehicletheft or an unauthorized movement, the method may comprise the steps ofreceiving vehicle information from a fleet management system, theinformation identifying a geofence

associated with the vehicle and whether the vehicle has been assigned toa task, receiving a time and location of the vehicle from an on-boardtelematics unit, generating a theft alert signal if it is determinedthat the vehicle is outside the geofence and has not been assigned to atask.

Optionally, the vehicle information is received from a fleet managementsystem each time that the vehicle is assigned to task.

The vehicle information may also be received from a fleet managementsystem each time that the assignment of a vehicle ends such that it isnot assigned to a task.

The assignment of a task to a vehicle may be the opening of a rentalcontract corresponding to the vehicle. Any number of alternative tasksare envisaged. For example, the vehicle could be assigned to be cleanedor could be assigned to have a mechanical inspection.

The termination of the assignment of a task may be the closing of arental contract for a vehicle.

According to the present invention there is also provided a systemconfigured to perform the above outlined method of detecting vehicletheft.

A computer readable medium having stored thereon a program, which whenexecuted by a computer, performs the above outlined method of detectingvehicle theft is al so envisaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present application will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional architecture for a vehicletelematics system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system employing telematics data andfleet management data in accordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram for a method of associating an on boardtelematics unit with a vehicle in accordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 4 is also flow diagram for a method of associating an on boardtelematics unit with a vehicle in accordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 5 is also a flow diagram for a method of associating an on boardtelematics unit with a vehicle in accordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for a method of creating a geofence inaccordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the creating of a geofence using a method inaccordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a map showing an exemplary geofence for alocation in accordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram for a method of correlating fleet managementdata with telematics data in accordance with the present teachings;

FIG. 10 is also a flow diagram for a method of correlating fleetmanagement data with telematics data in accordance with the presentteachings;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram for a method of detecting vehicle theftemployed in accordance with the present teachings; and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram for a method for detecting an issue with anonboard unit of a vehicle in accordance with the present teachings;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The inventors of the invention in accordance with the present teachingshave found that correlating fleet management data with telematics dataresults in benefits in management of a fleet of vehicles. Thearchitecture 200 of the system in accordance with the present teachingsin shown in FIG. 2. While this exemplary embodiment is described withreference to a vehicle rental system, it will be appreciated that anyvehicle management system may be used. This architecture differs fromthe conventional system of FIG. 1 in that a rental or leasing system 201is provided, which can communicate with and provide data to the TSP 106.As will be explained in more detail hereinafter, data from the rental orleasing system (RLS) 201 and data from the Telematics Service Provider(TSP) system 106 is correlated or analysed to provide improved vehiclefleet management.

The rental and leasing data which is analysed and used by the presentteachings (i.e., the data provided by the RLS 201) includes but is notlimited to:—

-   -   Customer/driver data        -   Name, date of birth, address, driving licence number, phone            number and nationality    -   Vehicle data        -   Unique vehicle ID, registration, make, model, version,            colour, due off date, due off kilometres, supplier, category            and status    -   Rental or lease data        -   Contract number, current location, due back location, date            time out, date time return, driver id, customer name,            colour, due off date, due off kilometres, supplier, category            and status    -   Non-revenue movement (NRM) data        -   Unique number, movement type, location out, location due            back, date out, date back, supplier name, drivers name,            registration, driver phone number and reason

The telematics data which is correlated by the present teachings (i.e.,the data provided by the TSP 106) includes but is not limited to:—

-   -   Vehicle speed    -   Vehicle acceleration    -   Vehicle position    -   Impact data and analysis    -   Driver safety scores    -   OBD diagnostic information    -   Driver infotainment service usage data

A first embodiment in accordance with the present teachings ofcorrelating rental data and telematics data will now be described withreference to FIG. 3. As is known in the art, several manual tasks arerequired to set up and run a telematics system for a fleet managementorganisation such as rental or leasing company. Firstly, when vehiclesare added to a fleet, they need to have an OBU installed. Afterinstalling the OBU, a user needs to send the OBU device ID (IMEI) andvehicle license plate number (LPN) to the telematics system so it candetermine which vehicle the OBU is tracking and sending data for. Thisprocess is known in the art as “onboarding”.

There are a number of methods for “onboarding” a vehicle. The user mayupload the relevant data using a variety of methods including submittingthe data manually through an online form or taking a picture of thedevice IMEI and vehicle LPN/registration for upload. As this is a manualprocess, it is both error prone and time consuming to input. It is timeconsuming to fill out forms and upload data and it is error prone as auser could input the wrong data or upload the wrong image or a blurryimage for a vehicle. Users providing incorrect inputs may result in datagetting incorrectly processed and consequently incorrect insights oractions may be presented to the user.

An embodiment of the invention in accordance with the present teachingsuses data correlation and machine learning to discover or determineIMEl-LPN associations i.e., OBU-vehicle associations. This embodiment ofthe present teachings removes the need for a user to provide anyassociation input after installing a telematics device on a vehicle. TheTSP 106 correlates the data from the rental or leasing software system201 with the telematics data from the vehicles 101, 102 to learn thecorrect device-to-vehicle associations. Whenever a customer rents orleases a vehicle, a contract is opened on the rental software system201. The data in a contract/record includes the LPN of the vehicle, thestation ID (SID) of where the vehicle was rented/leased from anddate/time that the rental or lease commenced. As is known in the art, anSID is a unique identifier for a key location in the rental or leasingsystem. For example a rental branch, pick up location, garage andbodyshop would all have SIDs. SIDs are used to track the locations ofthe vehicles in the fleet. It will be appreciated that in fleetmanagement systems other than rental systems, a contract may not beopened. However, an electronic record containing essentially the sameinformation as the contract may be created. For example, in haulagecompanies, a similar record as a contract may be opened each time avehicle is assigned a (haulage) task. This is similar to the creation ofnon revenue movement (NRM) record for a rental system as will beexplained in more detail below.

When a rental or leasing contract is closed, the LPN, the SID of thestation to which the vehicle is returned and date/time of contractclosure are all logged in the RLS 201. This data can also be correlatedwith the telematics data sent from the OBU 104, 105 in the vehicle tolearn the vehicle-to-device associations.

When a rental or leasing contract is closed, the LPN, the SID of thestation to which the vehicle is returned and date/time of contractclosure are all logged in the RLS 201. This data can also be correlatedwith the telematics data sent from the OBU 104, 105 in the vehicle tolearn the vehicle-to-device associations.

In addition, data from Non-revenue movement (NRM) can also be used bythe TSP 106 to learn the association between an OBU and a vehicle.Whenever a NRM is recorded the date/time of the movement, the LPN andthe SID of the start and end of movement are all recorded. The procedurefor a NRM is similar to the rental procedure. However, instead ofopening a contract for a customer, a NRM record is opened in system,which included similar data as in a rental contract i.e., the positionof the vehicle (for which a NRM record is opened) at a particular timeis stored the NRM record along with the above mentioned data.

With reference to FIG. 3, the specific steps of the method 300 ofassociating an on-board telematics unit with a vehicle performed by theTSP 106 are outlined.

Step 301: receiving a time and location of a vehicle from a fleetmanagement system;

Step 302: receiving a time and location of an on-board telematics unitfrom the on-board telematics unit;

Step 303: comparing the time and location of the vehicle with the timeand location of the on-board unit to determine if they correspond;

Step 304: associating the on-board telematics unit with the vehicle ifit is determined that there is correspondence between the time andlocation of the vehicle and the time and location of the on-board unit.

The OBU and the vehicle may be associated with each other if it isdetermined that time and location of the vehicle and the time andlocation of the on-board unit correspond a predetermined number oftimes. For example, if the vehicle and the on-board unit are at the samelocation three times within a certain time period, the OBU is consideredto be installed in the vehicle and the vehicle and OBU are associatedwith each other.

Further steps of the method (not shown in FIG. 3) may include increasinga confidence level that the on-board telematics unit is associated withthe vehicle if it is determined that the time and location of thevehicle corresponds to the time and location of the on-board unitcorrespond; and decreasing the confidence level if it is determined thatthe time and location of the vehicle with the time and location of theon-board unit do not correspond.

The process for learning associations can be further improved by addinga step to check if the difference in mileage recorded by the RLS at thetime the rental or NRM movement is opened and closed is the same as themileage recorded by the OBU.

Associating the on-board telematics unit with the rental vehicle maycomprise processing all telematics data from the on-board telematicsunit as indicating a time and location of the vehicle.

As will be explained in more detail below, associating the on-boardtelematics unit with the rental vehicle may comprise disassociating theon-board telematics unit with a second rental vehicle. That is, anon-board unit may already be (incorrectly) associated with a vehicle andthe on-board unit must be disassociated from the incorrect vehiclebefore associating it with the correct vehicle.

The fully automated process for associating an on-board unit with avehicle is described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. While thisexemplary embodiment is described with reference to a rental system, itwill be appreciated that any fleet management system many be used.

At step 401, a customer service representative (CSR) inputs data to therental system 201 e.g., at a user terminal in a vehicle rental office.The data entered each time a customer contract is opened includes theLPN of the vehicle being rented, the SID and the date/time that thevehicle is being rented from. At step 402, the data or contract detailsare provided to the TSP 106. The TSP is also provided with an OBU IMEI,position of the OBU and date/time corresponding to the position in step403. This information is provided by the OBU 104, 105 periodically tothe TSP 106. At this point in time, the TSP can receive information fromthe OBU but it has not associated the OBU with any particular vehicle inthe fleet.

At step 404, the TSP 106 correlates the contract data received from theRLS 201 and the vehicle position data received from the OBU. At step405, the TSP decides to increase or decrease a confidence rating thatthe OBU should be associated with the vehicle corresponding to thecontract data. At step 406, if the confidence rating has increased abovea predetermined threshold, the TSP associates the OBU with the vehicleidentified in the contract data.

It will be appreciated that the predetermined threshold may be chosen asappropriate by the person skilled in the art. For example, thepredetermined threshold may be a predetermined integer. In thisscenario, increasing a confidence level comprises increasing theconfidence level by a factor of one. Furthermore, decreasing theconfidence level may comprise decreasing the level by a factor of one.

The teachings in accordance with the present disclosure can also usecontract data obtained when a customer contract is closed (step 407) inorder to associate an OBU with a vehicle. For example, an OBU may nothave been associated with a vehicle by the time a contract for thatvehicle is closed. However, using rental information obtained fromclosing the contract, an association may be made.

Steps 407-412 mirror previously described steps 401-406, respectively.At step 407, a customer service representative (CSR) inputs data to therental system 201 e.g., at a user terminal in a vehicle rental office.The data entered each time a customer contract is closed includes theLPN of the vehicle being returned, the SID and the date/time that thevehicle is being returned to. At step 408, the data or contract detailsare provided to the TSP 106 i.e., time and location data for the vehicleis provided to the TSP. The TSP is also provided with an OBU IMEI,position of the OBU and date/time corresponding to the position in step409. This information is provided by the OBU 104, 105 periodically tothe TSP 106.

At step 410, the TSP 106 correlates the contract data received from theRLS 201 and the vehicle position data received from the OBU. At step411, the TSP decides to increase or decrease a confidence rating thatthe OBU should be associated with the vehicle corresponding to thecontract data. At step 412, if the confidence rating has increased abovea predetermined threshold, the TSP associates the OBU with the vehicleidentified in the contract data.

A specific example of using the method 300 of associating an OBU with arental vehicle in accordance with the present teachings is outlinedbelow:

-   -   Using the data from the rental system (e.g., data received in        step 301), the TSP system learns that a vehicle with LPN L 1 has        moved from location SID S1 at approx. time T1 to SID S2 at        approx. time T2        -   From the rental data—L 1: S1 (T1)→S2(T2)    -   Using telematics data from the OBU with IMEI 11 (e.g., received        in step 302), the TSP system learns that 11 has moved from a        geofenced area that matches the SIDs S1 at approx. time T1 and        arrived at SID S2 at approx. time T2.        -   From the telematics data—11: S1 (T1)→S2(T2)    -   The TSP correlates this data and determines that L 1:11 are        potentially associated as according to both datasets they moved        to and from the same locations at roughly the same time. The TSP        increases the confidence level of this association        -   Increase confidence of L 1:11 association    -   If a movement is recorded which is contrary to the assertion        that L 1 and 11 are associated, then the confidence level of        this association will be decreased.    -   When the confidence level of an association increases beyond a        certain threshold then all processing performed by the TSP will        assume the association to be true.

This system and method for associating an on-board telematics unit witha rental vehicle can be completely automatic or it can override a userinputted association. That is, in some scenarios, a user may haveerroneously linked or associated an OBU with a specific vehicle when itshould have been linked with a different vehicle. The present teachingsprovide a method of overriding or correcting this erroneous association.

The method for overriding or correcting a user inputted associationbetween an OBU and a vehicle is now described with reference to FIG. 5.At step 501, a user (install user) communicates with a client (installclient) to upload or input a vehicle licence plate number (LPN) and OBUIMEI for association. For example, this could involve the installer ofthe OBU using an on-line web form (or a mobile app) to input/upload theLPN and OBU IMEI. It will be appreciated that any number of methods maybe used by the user to associate the OBU with a vehicle in step 501.Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the step 501 carried out by auser is prone to human error.

At step 502, the association between an OBU and a vehicle asinput/uploaded by a user is provided to a Telematics Service Provider(TSP), e.g., TSP 106. At step 503, a similar step as outlined in step401 of FIG. 4 is carried out. That is, a customer service representative(CSR) inputs data to the rental system 201 e.g., at a user terminal in avehicle rental office. The data entered each time a customer contract isopened includes the LPN of the vehicle being rented, the SID and thedate/time that the vehicle is being rented from.

At steps 504, contract details such as the aforementioned LPN of thevehicle being rented, the SID and the date/time are provided to the TSPby the TLS. In step 505, the TSP is provided with an OBU IMEI, positionof the OBU and date/time. At step 506, the TSP compares the time andlocation of the vehicle with the time and location of the on-board unitto determine if they correspond. At step 507, a confidence level thatthe on-board telematics unit is associated with the vehicle is increasedor decreased based on the comparison. It is possible to make associationat this point in time i.e., after step 507 if the confidence rating hasreached a predetermined threshold. However, there are scenarios wherefurther data is needed before an override can be performed (i.e., beforethe threshold can be reached) and the method proceeds to step 508.

At step 508, a customer representative closes the contract for thevehicle. At step 509, the RLS informs the TSP that the rental contracthas been closed for the vehicle. In step 509, the TSP is also providedwith the LPN of the vehicle being returned, the SID and the date/timethat the vehicle is being returned to. At step 510, the OBU provides theTSP with an OBU IMEI, position of the OBU and date/time corresponding tothe position.

At step 511, the position and time data received from OBU and RLS arecompared or analyzed. At step 512, the confidence level is raised orlowered as appropriate (as previously described). For example, theconfidence level that current association between an on board unit and avehicle may be lowered and the confidence level of an association of theon board unit with another vehicle may be increased.

At step 513, if the TSP determines that the confidence level of thecurrent association is below a predetermined threshold and theconfidence level of another association is above a predeterminedthreshold, the current association is overridden.

A detailed example of overriding or correcting an association between anOBU and a vehicle is outlined below:

-   -   User inputs an association of vehicle with LPN L 1 to the OBU        with IMEI 11. This association is sent and stored in the TSP        system        -   (From user input—L 1:11 association)    -   Using the data from the rental system, the TSP system learns        that the vehicle with LPN L 1 has moved from location SID S1 to        SID S3        -   (From the rental data—L 1: S1→S3)    -   At the same time using the data from the OBU with IMEI 11, the        TSP system also learns that according the telematics data it has        moved from a geofenced area that matches the SIDs S1 and S2.        -   (From the telematics data—11: S1→S2)    -   All three assertions above cannot be true: —        -   Vehicle with LPN L 1 is associated with OBU with IMEI 11            (From user input—L 1:11 association)        -   Vehicle with LPN L 1 has moved from SID S1 to S3 (From the            rental data—L 1: S1→S3)        -   OBU with IMEI 11 has moved from SID S1 to S2 (From the            telematics data—11: S1→S2)    -   The TSP now decreases the confidence level of this association        -   (Reduce confidence of L 1:11 association)    -   At the same time, the TSP system also learns that the vehicle        with LPN L2 has moved from location S3 to S4 according to the        rental system data (L2: S1→S2)    -   This correlates to the movement of OBU with IMEI 11    -   The TSP now increases the confidence of this association.        -   (Increase confidence of L2:11 association)    -   The TSP increases the confidence level of an association as the        number of correlation matches increases for that association        (i.e. rental system data and telematics data agree).    -   The TSP decreases the confidence level of an association as the        number of correlation mismatches increases for that association.    -   When the confidence level of an association that disagrees with        a user's input increases beyond a certain threshold then this        association overrides the user's input association.

As will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art, vehicles in arental fleet have a short turnaround and are on-fleeted (added to therental flee) and off-fleeted (removed from the rental fleet) frequentlyso it is important to automate and streamline the process forassociating an OBU with a vehicle. The above outlined embodiment inaccordance with the present teachings completely automates theonboarding process using data correlation and machine learning.Implementing this system and method means that a user is no longerrequired to input and send this onboarding data to the TSP. This reducesthe onboarding time, the risk of error and the time taken to resolvethese errors.

Another time-consuming process required when setting up a telematicssystem is the creation of geofences. As is known in the art, a geofenceis a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. Geofencing isthe process of creating virtual boundaries around a location ofinterest. For a rental or leasing company, the locations of interestinclude branch offices, mechanics, body shops, holding areas and tireshops. It will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that arental/leasing company/system is merely exemplary and any vehicle fleetmanagement system with corresponding locations of interest may be used.Once a geofence has been created for a location of interest, alerts aregenerated whenever vehicles enter and exit the boundaries of thegeofence.

The process of creating a geofence is time consuming and error prone.For example, if a user of a fleet management system wants to create ageofence around a location, the process involves navigating a map on agraphical interface to find the location and then drawing a shape aroundthe location of interest to specify its co-ordinates. Currently settingup geofences for locations of interest is a manual process. Users needto draw the boundary of a geofence on a map using a shape (e.g. polygon,square, circle or free form). For a typical medium sized rental companythis could require drawing hundreds of geofences i.e., one for eachlocation of interest. As this is a manual and error prone process, ageofence may have to be redrawn several times after weeks of testing toensure its accuracy.

This embodiment of the invention in accordance with the presentteachings uses data correlation between telematics data and fleetmanagement data to create appropriate geofence boundaries for alocation. This embodiment of the present teachings removes the need fora user to create geofences manually. The Telematics Service Provider(TSP) correlates the data from fleet management or rental system withthe telematics data from a vehicle(s) to learn and create the correctboundary for each geofence. Of course, a third party entity could alsobe tasked with taking the telematics data and fleet management data inorder to create an appropriate geofence for each location of interest.

This embodiment of the invention can be used in conjunction with thepreviously described embodiment—associating an on-board telematics unitwith a vehicle. Alternatively, this further embodiment can be usedindependently. That is, even if a manual process has been used toassociate an OBU with a vehicle (and no override takes place), themethod in accordance with the present embodiment of the presentteachings can be used to create and/or edit a geofence.

In a similar manner as outlined above with regard to the previousembodiment, data from rental movement and Non-revenue movement (NRM) inconjunction with telematics data can be used to determine the locationof vehicles. Whenever a rental contract or a NRM record is opened, astation identifier (SID) and a date/time is specified (e.g. SID=“DUBT01”and time=09/11/2016 12:42:02). This SID is a “location of interest” forthe rental company and therefore requires a geofence. The TSPautomatically correlates this data (i.e. SID and date/time) with theposition of that vehicle from the OBU at that time and applies machinelearning rules. For example a rule could specify that if a vehicle isstationary in a position for a certain amount of time after a contractfor that vehicle is closed or before a contract is open in a specificSID, then the TSP increases the confidence of that position being withinthe geofence of that SID. If the confidence rating goes above a certainthreshold, then this position is included in the geofence. Theconfidence rating should only be increased if the vehicle is stationaryfor certain period to avoid adding positions of moving vehicles to thegeofence. The more instances of correlation, the more the system learnsand increases its confidence of the geographic and boundary points ofthe geofence. It will be appreciated that an electronic record at thefleet management system containing essentially the same information asfor the contract record or NRM record may be used to implement thepresent teachings.

With reference to FIG. 6, the general steps of a method 600 of creatinga geofence for a first location as performed by the TSP 106 areoutlined. Although reference is made to a first and second vehicle, onlyone vehicle is required.

Step 601: receiving a time that a first vehicle and a second vehiclewere at the first location from a fleet management system;

Step 602: receiving a time, a second location and duration that thefirst vehicle and the second vehicle were at a second location from arespective on-board telematics unit of the first vehicle and the secondvehicle;

Step 603: determining if the first vehicle and the second vehicle wereat the second location for a predetermined period of time; and

Step 604: creating the geofence for the first location as including thesecond location if it is determined that the first vehicle and secondvehicle were at the second location for the predetermined period oftime.

The following rules for correlation and learning may be used todetermine a geofence for rental location DUBT01. However, it will beappreciated that these rules are merely exemplary and any specific rulesmay be set as appropriate.

The rules for increasing the confidence level of a specific boundarybeing inside a geofence for a specific SID are as follows:—

-   -   Vehicle has been stationary for more than 45 mins in one        position prior to a contract opening (electronic record being        created) for that vehicle.    -   Vehicle has been stationary for more than 45 mins in one        position after a contract closing (electronic record closed) for        that vehicle

An exemplary rule for decreasing the confidence level of a specific areais as follows:—

-   -   1. The position has not been occupied (vehicle stationary at        that location) by a vehicle for more than 30 days

User feedback on geofences can be used to fine tune theserules/parameters. For example, a user can validate a system learnedgeofence or independently draw their own geofence for the same SID.Based on this feedback the system can tune its rules or parameters aboveto improve its algorithm for learning geofences.

A method of creating a geofence for a location of interest may also beconsidered to include the following steps.

-   -   Receive the longitude, latitude and time from the OBU of a        vehicle    -   Check the fleet management system (FMS) data to determine if        this vehicle was in any location of interests at the time        reported by the OBU.    -   If the FMS reports that the vehicle was inside a location of        interest at this time and if the vehicle OBU longitude and        latitude stays the same for a predetermined period of time then        increase the confidence that the longitude and latitude is        inside the location of interest.    -   When confidence level of any longitude and latitude exceeds a        predetermined threshold redraw geofence around this position.    -   If the longitude or latitude is not reported by any OBU within a        predetermined length of time then reduce the confidence level        that this longitude and latitude is inside the location of        interest.    -   If the confidence level of this longitude and latitude goes        below the predetermined threshold then redraw the geofence to        not include this longitude and latitude.

Turning to FIG. 7, this figure shows a geofence being automaticallycreated or drawn using data correlation and machine learning for SIDDUBT01 and the exemplary rules given above. The numbers in the bracketsare the X, Y position coordinate of the vehicle. These coordinates arekept simple for demonstration purposes only and are not indicative ofreal world coordinates. The number outside the bracket is the confidencelevel of the position (inside the brackets) being within the geofence.

Table 1 below shows the data events that would result in the geofence701 of FIG. 7 being drawn/created given the exemplary machine learningrules outlined above. It can be seen that in the first dataset (Dataset1), no geofence exists but as more data is gathered by the TSP, thegeofence 701 is expanded. Although this exemplary embodiment isdescribed with reference to a rental system, it will be appreciated thatany vehicle fleet management system may be used. In such a system, acontract may not be opened but an electronic record includingessentially the same information as provided in the contract would beopened or created.

TABLE 1 Rental Data Telematics Data Data- (received from (received fromCon- set RLS 201) OBU 104.105 Action fidence 1 Contract Vehicle A hasIncrease 1(0, 1) opened for been stationary confidence vehicle A at inposition 0, 1 rating of 09:00 at SID for 3 hours boundary DUBT01 priorto this around position (06:00-09:00) 0, 1 by 1 2 Contract closedVehicle B has Increase 2(0, 1) for vehicle B at been stationaryconfidence 09:10 at SID in position 0, 1 rating of DUBT01 for 2 hoursafter boundary this (09:30-12:30) around 0, 1 by 1 2 Contract closedVehicle C has Confidence 2(0, 1) for vehicle C at been stationary levelsremain 09:20 at SID in position 2, 2 the same as DUBT01 for a period ofperiod threshold 15 mins after was not this (09:40-09:55) exceeded 2Contract Vehicle D has Increase 1(0, 0) opened for been stationaryconfidence 2(0, 1) vehicle D at in position 0, 0 rating of 09:25 at SIDfor 2 hours boundary DUBT01 prior to this around 0, 0 to1, (06:25-09:25)2 Contract Vehicle E has Increase 1(0, 0) opened for been stationaryconfidence 2(0, 1) vehicle E at in position 1, 1 rating of 1(1, 1) 09:40at SID for 1 hour prior boundary DUBT01 to this around position(08:30-09:30) 1, 1 by 1 2 Contract closed Vehicle F has Increase 1(0, 0)for vehicle F at been stationary confidence 2(0, 1) 09:50 at SID inposition 1, 0 rating of 1(1, 0) DUBT01 for a period 3 boundary 1(1, 1)hour 15 mins around 1, 0 by 1 after this (10:00-13:15) 2 ContractVehicle G has Increase 2(0, 0) opened for been stationary confidence2(0, 1) vehicle G at in position 0, 0 rating of 1(1, 0) 10:00 at SID for4 hour prior boundary 1(1, 1) DUBT01 to this around position(06:00-10:00) 1, 0 by 1 2 Contract Vehicle H has Increase 2(0, 0) openedfor been stationary confidence 2(0, 1) vehicle H at in position 1, 0rating of 2(1, 0) 10:10 at SID for 2 hour 30 boundary 1(1, 1) DUBT01mins prior to around position this (07:50-10:10) 1, 0 by 1 2 Contractclosed Vehicle I was Increase 2(0, 0) for vehicle I at stationary inconfidence 3(0, 1) 10:20 at SID position 0, 1 for rating of 2(1, 0)DUBT01 2 hour 30 mins boundary 1(1, 1) prior to this around position(07:50-10:10) 1, 0 by 1. Draw a geofence for SID DUBT01 as it hasexceeded confidence threshold 3 Contract Vehicle J has Increase 3(0, 0)opened for been stationary confidence 3(0, 1) vehicle J at in position0, 0 rating of 2(1, 0) 10:30 at SID for 1 hour 30 boundary 1(1, 1)DUBT01 mins prior to around position this (09:00-10:30) 0, 0 by 1. Drawa geofence for SID DUBT01 around 0, 0 and 0.1 as both have exceededconfidence threshold 3 Contract Vehicle K has Increase 3(0, 0) openedfor been stationary confidence 3(0, 1) vehicle K at in position 1, 0rating of 3(1, 0) 10:40 at SID for 2 hours boundary 1(1, 1) DUBT01 priorto this around position (08:40-10:40) 1, 0 by 1. Draw a geofence for SIDDUBT01 around 0, 0, 0, 1 and 1, 0 as they have exceeded confidencethreshold 4 Contract Vehicle L has Increase 3(0, 0) opened for beenstationary confidence 3(0, 1) vehicle L at in position 1, 1 rating of3(1, 0) 10:45 at SID for 3 hours boundary 2(1, 1) DUBT01 prior to thisaround position (07:45-10:45) 1, 1 by 1 4 Contract closed Vehicle M wasIncrease 4(0, 0) for vehicle M at stationary in confidence 3(0, 1) 11:00at SID position 0, 0 for rating of 3(1, 0) DUBT01 2 hours prior toboundary around 2(1, 1) this (09:00-11:00) position 0, 0 by 1 4 Contractclosed Vehicle N was Increase 4(0, 0) for vehicle N at stationary inconfidence 3(0, 1) 11:10 at SID position 1, 1 for rating of 3(1, 0)DUBT01 1 hour prior to boundary 3(1, 1) this (10:10-11:10) aroundposition 1, 1 by 1. Draw a geofence for SID DUBT01 around 0, 0, 0, 1, 1,0 and 1, 1 as they have all exceeded the confidence threshold

It will be appreciated from the above table 1 that although differentvehicles are identified (vehicles A-N), a single vehicle (or single OBU)may be used to gather data in order to create a geofence for a location.However, the more data the telematics system receives from the rentalsystem and telematics device (OBU) the more it learns about the shape ofthe geofence. Accordingly, if a plurality of vehicles are used, moredata will be received in a shorter period of time.

Turning to FIG. 8, a map showing an exemplary geofence for SID DUBT01.This geofence 800 contains a number of geographical positions 801, 802.For example, position 801 may have coordinates 0, 1 as described above,position 802 may have coordinates 1, 1. As is known to those skilled inthe art, the geofenced area 800 is a relative small area around alocation SID DUBT01. Once a geofence has been created, alerts may beprovided to the rental system each time the geofence 800 is crossed by avehicle. For this example, the rental system will be made aware if avehicle has arrived at SID DUBT01 (entered the geofenced area) or hasleft SID DUBT01 (left the geofenced area).

The same algorithm or method can be used to create geofences for thenonrevenue locations (SIDs) by correlating NRM data with telematics dataand applying machine learning. As previously mentioned, a NRM recordmust be opened before a non-revenue movement can occur for a vehicle.When a NRM record is opened (and closed), similar information isrecorded for the vehicle in question as for opening and closing a rentalcontract. Non-revenue SIDs include mechanical repair shops,electricians, interior trimers, body repairs shops, branches and tradeshows/conference SIDs.

The learning algorithm can be tuned to discover sub-geofences within ageofence for given SID. For example, individual geofences correspondingto cleaning bays, returned parking bays and available parking bays maywant to be created. Machine learning rules for determining thesesub-geofences can be based on the knowledge that a car is usually firstparked in a return parking bay, then it is moved in cleaning bay andthen finally it is moved to an available parking bay. By analysingstop/start patterns, movement and clustering of vehicle, the system canlearn how to determine these sub-geofences within a SID. Again, a largedataset plus user feedback can help tune the parameters of thesealgorithms to improve the identification of these geofences andsub-geofences.

For example, the creation of a sub-geofence may first involve thecreation of a geofence for a location as described. The location andtime that a vehicle(s) spends at a specific location e.g., return bayetc. after a contract is closed for the vehicle is stored. It willquickly become apparent that a vehicle usually spends a predeterminedamount of time at each of the first, second, third etc. location withinthe created geofence after being returned to a rental location orstation. A subgeofence can be assigned for these first, second, thirdetc. locations.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the aboveoutlined embodiment for created geofences by correlating location andtime data results in an advantageous system and method. The method isfully automated such that creating geofences for locations of interestfor a vehicle fleet system is no longer a time consuming task that mustbe performed by a user. This reduces the installation time, the risk oferror and the time taken to resolve these errors.

Another embodiment of the teachings in accordance with the presentdisclosure involves a method of correlating data from a fleet managementsystem with telematics data to perform automated stock checks.

Another time-consuming process that must be performed by a fleetmanagement company is stock taking and maintaining a stock report.Performing stock checks in a rental location or depot usually requires amember of staff to walk around the location and take note of eachvehicle present. The staff member must then compare these vehiclesagainst the same data in the fleet management system and manually fixany anomalies/discrepancies in the data.

This embodiment of the invention in accordance with the presentteachings automates this stock taking process and consequently there isno longer a requirement for a staff member to perform this stock check.Specifically, the TSP correlates the data from the fleet managementsystem with the telematics data to determine discrepancies in thesystem. Furthermore, these discrepancies can be automatically amended orcorrected. The method in accordance with the present teachings canidentify any discrepancies between locations recorded by staff membersin the system compared to the location data provided by the OBU fittedto a vehicle.

There are two methods for identifying and amending errors in the system:—

-   -   1. Batch identification and manual amendments        -   This type of identification is either triggered by a user or            a scheduled task.        -   This involves a process comparing the telematics data and            rental data for a specific group of vehicles in the database            and generating a report        -   A user can then use this report to manually amend the rental            system.    -   2. Event-driven identification and automated amendment        -   This type of identification is triggered by telematics            events and rental events.        -   A telematics event is an update from the OBU and a rental            event is a rental or NRM update from the RLS.

Both systems and methods automate the stock taking process so a memberof staff is no longer required to take note of every vehicle in theircompound and compare the data against the recorded data in the rentalsystem.

Table 2 below is a batch (anomaly) report that is generated which showsall the stock anomalies for vehicles currently located in OUBT01.Generation of the report may be triggered by a user of the TSP system atthe rental location, compound etc. The process compares the rentalsystem data to the telematics system data and reports all the instanceswhere they do not agree.

TABLE 2 UNIQUE REGISTRA- VEHICLE ID TION CATEGORY BRAND MODEL COLOURLOCATION STATUS GEOFENCE 23406 161D44749 IFMD HYUNDAI TUSCON WHITEDUBT01 AVAILABLE KNOCK AIRPORT 23065 161D41511 CDAD RENAULT CAPTUR 1.5ORANGE DUBT01 AVAILABLE DOWNEY'S DSL AUTO FORD 22474 161D39735 IDMDVOLKSWAGEN PSSAT SILVER DUBT01 AVAILABLE ATHLONE 1.6TDI AFPC01 14526142D15265 CDMD FORD FOCUS 1.6 BLACK CORK AVAILABLE DUBT01 TDCI ORKT0117850 151D36447 CDMD HYUNDAI 130 1.6 DSL WHITE CORK AVAILABLE DUBT01ORKT01

The report has identified the following anomalies:—

-   -   1. 161044749-Hyundai-Tucson        -   It is located at OUBT01 according to rental system        -   It is located at KNOCKAIRPORT according to the telematics            system/OBU    -   2. 161041511-Renault-Captur 1.5 OSL Auto        -   It is located at OUBT01 according to rental system        -   It is located at DOWNEYS FORD according to the telematics            system/OBU    -   3. 161 D39735-Volkswagen-Passat 1.6TDI        -   It is located at DUBT01 according to rental system        -   It is located at DOWNEYS FORD according to the telematics            system/OBU    -   4. 142D15265-Ford-Focus 1.6TDCI        -   It is located at CORK ORK T01 according to the rental system        -   It is located at DUBT01 according to the telematics            system/OBU    -   5. 151D36447-Hyundai-i30 1.6 DSL        -   It is located at CORK ORK T01 according to the rental system        -   It is located at DUBT01 according to the telematics            system/OBU

In response to generating the report and observing the anomalies, a usercan make manual amendments to the records to resolve these issues asoutlined in more detail below.

A stock anomaly may also result from a vehicle crossing a geofence itdoes not have permission to enter. For example, if there is a cross(international) border charge and the rental company does not allowvehicles to cross borders or the renter has not paid the fee to crossthe border then the vehicle will show up on the stock anomaly report.Rules may be added to remove vehicles from the report if thecross-border activity did not meet a certain criterion. For example, ifthe vehicle crosses the border for only a brief amount of time or thevehicle only crossed the border by a small distance. The system can beextended to integrate with a banking system to automatically chargerenters that show up in the report as a cross border stock anomaly. Therental contract is updated by the system to reflect that they have beenautomatically charged for the cross border fee.

This aspect of the invention may involve receiving fleet management datafrom a fleet management system e.g., contract details indicating that afee to cross an international border has not been paid. The telematicssystem can assign or note a geofence for the vehicle in question e.g.,geofence Ireland. The telematics system received geolocation data froman OBU of the vehicle. If it is determined that the vehicle has left theassigned geofence (Ireland), an alert can be sent to the fleetmanagement system. The fleet management system can take the appropriateaction as outlined above, charge a fee etc.

It will be appreciated that this aspect of the invention can beperformed separately from the stock anomaly detection aspect.

It will be appreciated that the present teachings provide a method formaintaining a vehicle stock report for a first location. The method maybe performed by the telematics system using data received. The methodcomprising receiving an assignment of a vehicle from a fleet managementsystem and determining from the assignment of the vehicle that thevehicle should be within a predetermined geofence a predetermined timeafter assignment of the vehicle. It will be appreciated that theassignment of the vehicle may correspond to opening a rental contractfor the vehicle and providing it to a user. Alternatively, this couldinvolve opening a NRM record or closing a contract or NRM record. Ineach case, the vehicle is expected to be within a specific geofence at apredetermined time after assignment of the task. If opening a contract,the geofence should be a geofence not associated with the station i.e.,the vehicle is expected to leave the station as it has been rented by acustomer. If closing a contract, the vehicle is expected to remainwithin the geofence of the station i.e., the vehicle has returned from arental period. An assignment corresponding to non revenue movement (NRM)should also be associated with a geofence. For example, this may involvethe vehicle being

moved to another rental location, which means that the vehicle is expectto enter the geofence of the other rental location within apredetermined time.

The TSP system subsequently receives a time and location of the vehiclefrom an on board unit of the vehicle and determines if the vehicle iswithin the predetermined geofence at the predetermined time afterassignment of the task based on the received time and location. The TSPupdates the stock report based on the result of the determination. In asimilar manner as previously described, the time and location of thevehicle may be received periodically from the on board unit.

Updating the stock report may comprise recording the vehicle location asinconsistent with the predetermined geofence if the location of thevehicle is not within the predetermined geofence within thepredetermined time. Alternatively, updating the stock report comprisesrecording the vehicle location as consistent with the predeterminedgeofence if the location of the vehicle is within the predeterminedgeofence within the predetermined time.

A specific example of correlating rental or leasing data with telematicsdata to maintain a stock report for a location in accordance with thepresent teachings is now described with reference to FIG. 9. The skilledperson will appreciate while the exemplary diagram of FIG. 9 is withrespect to a vehicle rental system, the present teachings are notlimited to this and any fleet management system may be used in place ofthe rental system RLS.

At step 901, the customer service representative (CSR) opens a contractC1 for Licence Plate Number (LPN) L 1 at station-ID S1. At step 902, therental and leasing system (RLS) sends a notification to the TelematicsService Provider (TSP) system with these details. The TSP maintains astock report and at step 903, the TSP uses the received details toupdate the stock report. Specifically, the Report Table is amended tospecify that the status of the vehicle LPN L 1 has changed fromAVAILABLE to ONRENT. The expectation is that the vehicle will leave thegeofence S1 i.e., it will leave the station SID S1. The vehicle L 1moves outside the S1 geofence. At step 904, the OBU sends a positionupdate(s) for the vehicle L 1 to the TSP. It will be appreciated by theskilled person that the time and position data provided in step 904 maybe provided periodically to the TSP. The TSP determines that the vehicleL 1 has moved outside the geofence S1 and is now outside allgeofences—step 905. The TSP updates the Report Table for that vehicle tospecify that the vehicle is now in the Ireland geofence—step 906. When auser generates a stock anomaly report, the TSP will compare the locationof the vehicle (based on data received from the OBU) with the expectedlocation corresponding to the status

ON RENT. If this information corresponds or aligns, the location ofvehicle L 1 will not be identified or recorded in the report table as astock anomaly.

At step 907, a contract C2 is opened for vehicle L2 by a customerservice representative CSR. At step 908, these contract/vehicle detailsare sent to the TSP. The TSP updates the report table to specify thatthe status of the vehicle L2 has changed from AVAILABLE to ONRENT—step909. The vehicle is expected to leave the geofence S1. At step 910, theOBU sends a position update(s) for the vehicle L2 to the TSP. The TSPdetermines that the vehicle L2 is still inside the geofence S1—step 911.The TSP updates/maintains the report table with the location of thevehicle as within geofence S1—step 912. Steps 910 to 912 may be repeatedperiodically for a predetermined number time period e.g., a number ofhours. The TSP will determine the time period since the vehicle wasexpected to leave the geofence S1 and if this time period exceeds acertain predetermined time threshold.

For example, it will determine that it has been 24 hours since thecontract was opened and the threshold has been set at 4 hours.Accordingly, this vehicle L2 will be identified as an anomaly on thereport. That is, if the stock anomaly report is run, the report willshow that the location of the vehicle corresponding to the ON RENTstatus and actual location of the vehicle are not aligned.

If the vehicle is highlighted as an anomaly on the report, it is a signthat the CSR may have entered the wrong vehicle registration number intothe contract or there was a change of vehicles but the contract wasnever updated to reflect this change.

At step 913, an OBU sends the position of a vehicle L3 to the TSP. TheTSP determines that L3 has just entered the geofence S1—914. The TSPupdates the stock report table to specify that the vehicle has changedgeofence from none to S1—step 915. At step 916, a contract C3 is closedfor vehicle L3 by a customer service representative CSR. At step 917,these contract/vehicle details are sent to the TSP. At step 918, the RLSsends the data to the TSP to specify that the RLS expects L3 now to beinside the geofence S1 i.e., the status is amended from ONRENT toAVAILABLE.

Now when the stock report is run, the TSP will read the report table anddetermine that the location of L3 is aligned between the telematics dataand the data from the RLS. Accordingly vehicle L3 will not appear as ananomaly when the report is displayed to a user.

At step 919, the OBU for vehicle L4 sends the position of vehicle L4 tothe TSP. The TSP determines the position of L4 and determines that ithas just entered or crossed geofence S1—step 920. The TSP updates thestock report table to specify that the position of the vehicle L4 haschanged Geofence from none to S1—step 921. However there is nocorresponding contract closure for the vehicle L4 in the RLS so thevehicle is still expected to be outside S1. If this vehicle remains inthe return branch S1 without a contract closure for X number of hours(where X is a configurable threshold) then it will appear on the reportas an anomaly.

At step 922 in FIG. 9, the CSR closes contract C5 for vehicle L5. TheRLS updates the TSP specifying that the vehicle L5 should be inside thegeofence S1—step 923. The TSP updates the stock report table specifyingthat location of L5 is S1—step 924. However there is no update from theOBU of the vehicle L5 placing it inside geofence S1 so the stock reportstill has its current geofence value or location which is none. When thestock report is run, the TSP will read the report table and determinethat the location between the RLS and the tracker is not aligned so thisvehicle will show up as an anomaly in the stock report.

It will be appreciated that a stock report can be requested at any timeby a user. When this occurs the TLS reads the report table and displaysthe data in a suitable format.

Table 3 below shows the stock report for station S1 with respect to theabove sequence diagram of FIG. 9. In the Table, the anomalies areincluded in rows L2, L4 and L5. This type of report could take between5-6 hours if done manually as someone needs to walk around the branchcompound or rental location checking each vehicle reukiTntion andcomnaring it to the location specified in the RLS.

TABLE 3 Station-IP Geofence Group Vehicle LPN (RLS) (Tracker) Status L1S1 Ireland ONRENT L2 — S1 ONRENT L3 S1 S1 AVAILABLE L4 S1 IrelandAVAILABLE L5 — S1 ONRENT

There are three vehicles identified as anomalies in the table—L2, L4 andL5. L2 is identified as an anomaly due to its status being ONRENT and itstill being inside the geofence group S1 beyond a configurable timethreshold. The expectation is that if a vehicle's status changes toONRENT that it will leave the geofence group S1 after a certain time. L4is identified as an anomaly because the contract for this vehicle wasclosed at station S1 so the expectation is that the vehicle has returnedto this geofence location. However, the OBU for this vehicle never gavea position update inside the geofence for this station. L5 shows up asan anomaly due to the contract for this vehicle remaining open so theexpectation is that it will not cross the return station geofence.However, the OBU for this vehicle updates specifies that it has crossedthe geofence a number of hours ago.

The following are some approaches to amending the above anomalies. Thefirst approach is to verify the physical position of the vehicleshighlighted visually. For example, for L2 a visual inspection of thebranch S1 could be performed to see if the vehicle is there. If thevehicle is located at the branch the next step is to check when thevehicle was due back according to contract C2. If it was due back tothat branch, the contract can be closed at the time the vehicle crossedthe geofence which will correct this anomaly or discrepancy in the stockreport. Such an anomaly is usually caused by a CSR not closing thecontract when the vehicle was returned.

The L4 anomaly could be a potential theft so this needs to be reconciledpromptly. According to the rental system there is currently no opencontract for this vehicle so it should still be inside its returnlocation (i.e. station S1). However according to the tracker it has leftthe geofence. This vehicle is currently outside all the rental stations,so the anomaly cannot be resolved through visually inspection of any ofthe stations. However it may be resolved by cross referencing otheranomalies as explained below.

According to the rental system, vehicle L5 is currently out on rent oncontract C5. However according to the tracker it has remained insidebranch S1 for a number of hours. This can be confirmed through visualinspection of S1. If it is inside the return station, then the usershould check the times that L5 was due to go out on rent and check ifany other vehicles have moved outside the geofence at that time that arenot on contracts. Vehicle L4 left the compound at roughly that time soit is highly likely that L4 was supposed to be on the customer contractC5. This could be due to a CSR incorrectly inputting the wrongregistration in the contract. Another way to confirm is by phoning thedriver on contract C5 and ask them for the registration of theirvehicle. Once this is confirmed, the user can change the registration onthe contract which would fix both anomalies for L4 and L5.

The TLS could automatically provide suggestions for anomaly fixes. Inthe above example, the TSP could suggest that L4 is possibly out oncontract C5 based on the movement of the vehicles and time that thecontract was opened. It could also suggest that the contract for L2should be closed because the vehicle crossed the geofence at roughly thetime it was meant to be returned.

Another example of maintaining a vehicle stock report for a location isnow described with reference to FIG. 10. Again, it will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art that the method outlined in FIG. 10 is notlimited to a rental system but can be utilised by any vehicle fleetmanagement system in place of the RLS. In such a situation, the openingof a contract corresponds to an assignment of a vehicle to a task suchas haulage from point A to point B with a start and end time. Theclosing of a contract is simply the assignment of a vehicle to anothertask, which may simply be to leave the vehicle parked in thestation/depot.

At step 1001, a contract is closed for vehicle L 1. The details of theclosing of the contract C 1 such as license plate number, time, date andlocation are provided to the Telematics system TSP at step 1002. The TSPupdates a Report Table with the status of the vehicle change from ONRENTto AVAILABLE and the location as SID S1—step 1003. At step 1004, the TSPreceives time and position data from the OBU of vehicle L 1. In step1005, the TSP determines that the vehicle is in geofence S2 based on thedata received from the OBU. At step 1006, the Report Table is updated toshow the geofence of the vehicle as S2. As will be explained in moredetail below, this will be indicated as a discrepancy in the ReportTable as the vehicle cannot be recorded as within geofence S1 by therental system and within geofence S2 by the telematics system.

At step 1007, a NRM record for a vehicle L2 is closed and the detailsprovided to the RLS at step 1008. At step 1009, the TSP updated thecurrent station for vehicle L2 as S1 and changes the vehicle status toAVAILABLE. At step 1010, an OBU for vehicle L2 provides a position andlocation for L2 to the TSP. The TSP determines from the data receivedfrom the OBU that the vehicle L2 has entered geofence S1.

At step 1013, a contract is closed for vehicle L3. This information ispassed to the TSP at step 1014. The TSP updated the report table at step1015 with the station ID of the vehicle as S1 and the status asavailable. At step 1016, location data is received by the TSP from anOBU of the vehicle L3. The TSP determines that the vehicle is withingeofence S1—step 1017. At step 1018, the report table is updated toreflect the geofence location of L3.

At step 1019, a CSR runs or requests a stock report for location/stationS1 from the TSP. Accordingly the TSP accesses the maintained stockreport (step 1020) and provides this to the user in graphical format.The flow diagram of FIG. 10 will generate the report for location S1shown in Table 4 below.

TABLE 4 LPN Station-ID Geofence Group Vehicle Status L1 S1 S2 AVAILABLEL2 S1 S1 AVAILABLE L3 S1 S1 AVAILABLE

Vehicle L 1 is a discrepancy since the rental system believes that it islocated at station S1 and that it is available to rent. However, theactual location as provided by the OBU of vehicle L 1 is within geofenceS2. Of course, this assumes that the OBU is functioning correctly andprovided accurate location data. This can be checked by manuallydetermining the location of vehicle L 1.

Another embodiment of the teachings in accordance with the presentdisclosures involves a method of theft detection and unauthorizedmovement of vehicles. There are several approaches used by telematicssystems to detect a stolen vehicle and unauthorized movement. Oneapproach is to allow users to “arm” a vehicle. If the vehicle moveswhile the vehicle is armed then the user gets a notification that apotential theft has occurred. This is error prone as users may forget toarm the vehicle and users may find this manual task an inconvenience.The other approach is to draw or create a geofence around an area thatthe vehicle is usually located and if the vehicle leaves this geofencethe user is notified of a possible theft. This is not a very accurateapproach and can result in many false notifications.

Accordingly, this embodiment of the present teachings combines data froma fleet management system and telematics data to provide a higher levelof confidence that a theft has occurred. The system correlates a livefeed from the on-board unit (OBU) as well as information from a fleetmanagement system. The OBU provides a vehicle position while the vehiclemanagement system specifies whether a vehicle should be in a specificgeofence or has moved for legitimate reasons (e.g. vehicle is out onrent, vehicle is currently on a non-revenue movement etc.).

A method for detecting vehicle theft in accordance with the presentteachings may comprise the steps of receiving vehicle information from afleet management system, the information identifying a geofenceassociated with the vehicle and whether the vehicle has been assigned toa task, receiving a time and location of the vehicle from an on-boardtelematics unit, sending a theft alert signal if it is determined thatthe vehicle is outside the geofence and has not been assigned to a task.

The skilled person will appreciate that the aforementioned task may be ahaulage task assigned to a vehicle, renting of the vehicle to a user,assigning the vehicle to be cleaned etc.

A specific example of the method for detecting vehicle theft employed bythe present teachings is shown in FIG. 11. The first step to improvingthe detection of theft is to create geofences for every location that avehicle will be parked while not on rent or not on a NRM i.e., when notassigned a task. These include branch locations, repair shops etc. Thesegeofences will then be mapped to station-ids in the rental system by theuser. Every time a vehicle reports its position, the TSP will detect itsgeofence and station id. If this does not match the station-id in therental system then the user will be alerted of a potential theft.

It will be appreciated that the method for theft detection in accordancewith this embodiment of the invention is not limited to rental vehiclesor rental systems. Any feet management may be used and can provideessentially the same information

as provided by the rental system RLS. Geofences and stations IDs may becreated for vehicle depots as opposed to rental locations. While acontract may not be opened, an electronic record equivalent to acontract may be created each time a vehicle is assigned to a task, useror movement.

The sequence diagram of FIG. 11 shows an exemplary work flow for theftdetection in rental fleet. The skilled person will be aware that thismethod is equally applicable to any fleet management system. Firstly, anadministrator creates geofences at step 1101 and maps them to all thestation-ids in the rental system at step 1102. The specific method ofcreating geofences is not essential to this embodiment. This can be donemanually by an administration or automatically as previously describedwith reference to FIGS. 6-8.

At step 1103, a customer service representative (CSR) opens a rentalcontract for a vehicle in a similar manner as previously described. Atstep 1104, the contract details including time and position and ID ofthe vehicle L 1 are provided to the telematics system (TSP).

At step 1105, the OBU (located in the vehicle) sends the position P1 forvehicle L 1 to the TSP. The TSP determines that the vehicle is insideGeofence in at step 1106. The TSP also determined that this geofence isnot mapped to any station-ID—step 1107. The TSP correlates this datawith the rental data received at step 1104 and determines that thevehicle is currently on an open rental contract (i.e. ON RENT)—step1108. Therefore, the fact that the vehicle is not at a known station-idis not a reason to raise a “POSSIBLE THEFT” alert. Specifically, thevehicle has been rented to a customer and is currently at a locationthat is not within the geofence of any station (rental location). Thecustomer is free to drive the vehicle anywhere they please insideGeofence lrl.

At some point in time, the vehicle is returned to a rentallocation/station, in this case station S2. As shown in step 1109, thecontract C1 is closed on return of the vehicle L 1 to the station S2.The close of contract details are provided to the TSP at step 1110.

The vehicle later sends an updated position P2 at step 1111. Thisposition P2 is inside geofence G2 which is mapped to station-ID S2. Atthis point the vehicle is not on rent. The TSP determines that this isthe expected location for the vehicle so no alert is triggered—steps1112 to 1114.

At step 1115, the vehicle sends its location as P3. At step 1116, theTSP determines that P3 is inside geofence in and also determined at step1117 that the geofence lrl not mapped to any known station-id. Since thevehicle is neither out on rent (or a NRM) but the vehicle is at alocation not mapped to a station-id, this is determined to be apotential theft scenario and an alert signal is triggered—step 1118.

Although not described with reference to FIG. 11, another feature of themethod for detect vehicle theft may involve receiving vehicleinformation from a fleet management system, the information identifyinga task assigned to the vehicle and a geofence corresponding to the task,receiving a time and location of the vehicle from an on-board telematicsunit, generating a theft alert signal if it is determined that thevehicle is outside the geofence corresponding to the task. For example,if a vehicle has been assigned to be mechanically inspected at a garagewith a corresponding geofence but the telematics data indicated that itis not at the garage, this could indicate a theft.

Before an alert is generated, a predetermined period of time may beallowed to pass in which time and location of the vehicle from anon-board telematics unit is received. This is to allow for transit timebetween a rental location and garage.

FIG. 11, describes the method for detecting theft and unauthorizedmovement of vehicles at stations/branches, however it is unable todetect unauthorized movements that occur outside of branches (e.g. aftercustomer delivery service). For added convenience, rental car companiesprovide a service whereby the rental vehicle is delivered to acustomer's house or company before the start of the rental and collectedat the end of the rental. If the rental vehicle is moved after thevehicle is delivered and before the contract commences then this is anunauthorized movement of the vehicle. This movement could either be therenter using the vehicle themselves in which case they should be billedfor starting the contract early or it's a vehicle theft. In either case,rental companies do not have visibility of these unauthorized movements.

The following method describes how it can be detected. The delivery andcollection drivers have a mobile application that allows them to managetheir movements. At the beginning of a delivery movement they click abutton to indicate the start of the delivery movement and they click abutton when they complete the movement. The app transmits the time andlocation of the start and end of this delivery to the TSP service. Itwill be appreciated that any method of providing data to the rental andleasing system in place of a mobile application may be used.

If the OBU reports a movement of the vehicle after the transmitted endtime of the deliver and before the start time of the rental contract, itadds an alert to the table. This alert can be sent as an email/SMS alertto a designated user or can be made part of an unauthorized movementreport that is presented to user through a portal or email.

The user can take an action to contact the customer and verify whetherthey were responsible or whether it is a vehicle theft. This process isalso applied to collection movements whereby the start and end locationand time of collection movements are recorded in the mobile app. Inaddition, the location of the vehicle being collected is given to thedriver through the app at all times during the collection. This reducesthe number of occurrences of missed collections. A missed collectionhappens when the vehicle being collected is not at the agreed collectionaddress at the agreed time of collection. The driver is notified as soonas the vehicle leaves the agreed location. In this case, the customer ischarged a missed collection fee. This app allows missed collection to beidentified early which reduces the overhead and lost fuel that resultsdirectly from these aborted collections.

The above method can be considered as comprising the steps of receivingvehicle information from a fleet management system indicating that avehicle should remain at a location for a predetermined time period,receiving a notification that the vehicle has moved from the locationwithin the predetermined time period from an on-board unit of thevehicle, generating an unauthorized movement alert if it is determinedthat the vehicle has moved within the predetermined time period.

These methods have many benefits including a reduction in theft,increase in revenue by billing customers for unauthorized usage ofvehicles, increased transparency of delivery and collection movements,reduced fuel/mileage and an increase in overall improvement inefficiency as the central dispatcher can now manage all movementscentrally.

Another embodiment of the teachings in accordance with the presentdisclosure involves a method of correlating data from a fleet managementsystem with telematics data to enhance detection and recognition ofissues with a vehicle OBU.

It is often difficult to determine if is there is a malfunction of anOBU using just the data from the OBU itself. For example, a telematicssystem may be configured with a rule to alert the administrator of afaulty OBU if the device does not report any journeys or does not reporta change in position for a predetermined time period e.g., a number ofdays. However it may be a case that the vehicle is just parked in alocation for that time and there is actually no issue with the device.Another rule for detecting issues with an OBU could be to report anissue with the device if a data packet has not been received from adevice within a predetermined time frame e.g., a number of days.However, the vehicle may be parked in an underground car park with nosignal and the OBU may be functioning correctly.

Machine learning can be used to determine the locations wherein a OBUsignal cannot be sent and received. For example, if X number of vehicleslose signal in a specific location then the TSP will automaticallycreate a geofence for this location as a known location that does nothave a signal. If a vehicle OBU is no longer sending packets, the TSPwill check if is inside such a geofences and if so will reduce theconfidence level that the OBU is malfunctioning.

A geofence can be created for a signal “black spot” in a similar manneras described above for the creation of dynamic geofences. A log of allthe areas in which a signal cannot be sent and/or received by an OBU maybe created. This log can then be cross referenced periodically todetermine if there are locations that repeatedly appear in the log.Using the geographical points at which a signal to/from an OBU is lost,the boundary of the geofence for the “black spot” can be determined.

A method for detecting a malfunction of an on-board telematics unitassociated with a vehicle in accordance with the present teachings maycomprise the steps of receiving time and location information from afleet management system identifying the vehicle at a first location at afirst time, receiving time and location information from a fleetmanagement system identifying the vehicle at a second location at asecond time, and logging a malfunction of the on-board telematics unitif it is determined that time and position data has not been receivedfrom the unit between the first time and the second time.

By correlating the telematics data with the fleet management system orrental system data it is possible to make a more accurate predictionregarding device issues. A specific example of the method for detectingissue with an on-board unit of a vehicle is shown in FIG. 12. Thisexample is described with reference to a rental system (RLS). However,the person skilled in the art will appreciate that any fleet managementsystem may be used in place of the rental system RLS.

In step 1201, a contract for a vehicle L 1 is opened at station S1. Atstep 1202, the contract details are provided by the rental system to thetelematics system.

Position data is not received from the OBU of the vehicle L 1—1203. Atstep 1204, the contract for the vehicle L 1 is closed at a differentstation S2. The closing of the contract is informed to the TSP at step1205. Clearly there has been a movement of the vehicle from station S1to S2 i.e., a movement has been (manually) recorded in the rental system(RLS) but no movement data has not provided to the telematics system bythe OBU.

Once this miscorrelation in data from the RLS and OBU is detected (step1206), the TSP will attempt to automatically resolve this issue with theOBU by instructing the device to update, upgrade, reset or restart—step1207. Any number of remedial actions can be taken at this point. Ifthese actions do not resolve the issue (step 1208) the rental systemuser will be instructed to manually inspect the device or send it forrepair. That is, a notification is made by the TSP to the rental systemRLS/user of the rental system that there is an issue with the OBU ofvehicle L 1—step 1209.

It will be appreciated that the above description utilising crossreferences between fleet management information and telematicsinformation is made with reference to separate embodiments. However,this is not intended to convey the limitation that features orcomponents that are described with reference to one embodiment cannot beused or interchanged for those described with reference to a secondembodiment. All of the above embodiment can be combined partially orcompletely.

For example, an on-board unit may be associated with a vehicle and saidvehicle and on-board unit subsequently used for the dynamic creation ofa geofence(s).

A malfunction may be detected in an on-board unit that has beenassociated with a vehicle as outlined above. A malfunction may bedetected (and corrected) in an on-board unit which has been (or issubsequently used) for the dynamic creation of a geofence.

The geofences used for maintaining a stock report and detecting vehicletheft may be created using the dynamic method of geofence creationdescribed above.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the teachings inaccordance with the present invention provide a number of benefitsincluding the following: —

-   -   Cut operational costs    -   Complete fleet visibility    -   Eliminate fraudulent claims    -   Automated operational tasks        -   Automate stock taking        -   Automate check in/check out    -   Intelligent reporting        -   Vehicle location anomalies        -   Valeting efficiency        -   Vehicle maintenance reports    -   Make faster and better decisions        -   Impact detection        -   Theft detection    -   New products and services        -   Customer driver safety portal        -   Journey tracker/diary        -   Locate where your car is parked        -   Locate customer after breakdown

The words comprises/comprising when used in this specification are tospecify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or componentsbut does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more otherfeatures, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of creating a geofence for a firstlocation, comprising: receiving a time that a first vehicle was at thefirst location from a fleet management system; receiving a time that thefirst vehicle was at a second location from an on-board telematics unitof the first vehicle; determining whether the first vehicle was at thesecond location for a predetermined period of time before or after beingat the first location; increasing a confidence level of the secondlocation being within the geofence of the first location in response todetermining that the first vehicle was at the second location for apredetermined period of time before or after being at the firstlocation; and creating the geofence for the first location as includingthe second location in response to determining that the first vehiclewas at the second location for the predetermined period of time beforeor after being at the first location.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereincreating the geofence for the first location as including the secondlocation comprises creating the geofence for the first location asincluding the second location in response to determining that theconfidence level of the second location being within the geofence of thefirst location has reached or exceeded a predetermined threshold.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: receiving a time that a secondvehicle was at the first location from the fleet management system;receiving a time that the second vehicle was at the second location froman on-board telematics unit of the second vehicle; determining whetherthe second vehicle was at the second location for the predeterminedperiod of time before or after being at the first location; andincreasing the confidence level of the second location being within thegeofence of the first location in response to determining that thesecond vehicle was at the second location for the predetermined periodof time before or after being at the first location.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle are differentvehicles.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first vehicle and thesecond vehicle are the same vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising maintaining the confidence level of the second location beingwithin the geofence of the first location as unchanged in response todetermining that the first vehicle was stationary at the second locationfor less than the predetermined period of time.
 7. The method of claim6, further comprising: decreasing a confidence level that a thirdlocation is part of the geofence in response to determining that thefirst vehicle has not remained at the third location for a predeterminedduration of time within a predetermined window of time; and removing thethird location from the geofence in response to determining that theconfidence level that the third location is part of the geofence hasdecreased below a predetermined threshold.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the first location and the second location are the samelocation.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first location and thesecond location are different locations.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising at least one of: receiving a user input adding alocation to the geofence; or receiving a user input deleting a locationfrom the geofence.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the fleetmanagement system is a vehicle rental system.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein a location of the first vehicle is periodically received fromthe on-board telematics unit of the first vehicle.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the time that the first vehicle was at thefirst location from the fleet management system comprises receiving thetime that the first vehicle was at the first location from the fleetmanagement system in response to at least one of: an opening of a rentalcontract for the first vehicle by the fleet management system; or aclosing of the rental contract for the first vehicle by the fleetmanagement system.
 14. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumhaving stored thereon processor-executable software instructionsconfigured to cause a processor in a computing device to performoperations for creating a geofence for a first location, the operationscomprising: receiving a time that a first vehicle was at the firstlocation from a fleet management system; receiving a time that the firstvehicle was at a second location from an on-board telematics unit of thefirst vehicle; determining whether the first vehicle was at the secondlocation for a predetermined period of time before or after being at thefirst location; increasing a confidence level of the second locationbeing within the geofence of the first location in response todetermining that the first vehicle was at the second location for thepredetermined period of time before or after being at the firstlocation; and creating the geofence for the first location as includingthe second location in response to determining that the first vehiclewas at the second location for the predetermined period of time beforeor after being at the first location.
 15. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the storedprocessor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor toperform operations such that creating the geofence for the firstlocation as including the second location comprises creating thegeofence for the first location as including the second location inresponse to determining that the confidence level of the second locationbeing within the geofence of the first location has reached or exceededa predetermined threshold; and wherein the stored processor-executableinstructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operationsfurther comprising: maintaining the confidence level of the secondlocation being within the geofence of the first location as unchanged inresponse to determining that the first vehicle was stationary at thesecond location for less than the predetermined period of time;decreasing a confidence level that a third location is part of thegeofence in response to determining that the first vehicle has notremained at the third location for a predetermined duration of timewithin a predetermined window of time; and removing the third locationfrom the geofence in response to determining that the confidence levelthat the third location is part of the geofence has decreased below apredetermined threshold.
 16. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 14, wherein the stored processor-executableinstructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operationssuch that creating the geofence for the first location as including thesecond location comprises creating the geofence for the first locationas including the second location in response to determining that theconfidence level of the second location being within the geofence of thefirst location has reached or exceeded a predetermined threshold; andwherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured tocause a processor to perform operations further comprising: receiving atime that a second vehicle was at the first location from the fleetmanagement system; receiving a time that the second vehicle was at thesecond location from an on-board telematics unit of the second vehicle;determining whether the second vehicle was at the second location forthe predetermined period of time before or after being at the firstlocation; and increasing the confidence level of the second locationbeing within the geofence of the first location in response todetermining that the second vehicle was at the second location for thepredetermined period of time before or after being at the firstlocation.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 14, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions areconfigured to cause a processor to perform operations further comprisingat least one of: receiving a user input adding a location to thegeofence; or receiving a user input deleting a location from thegeofence.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 14, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions areconfigured to cause a processor to perform operations such thatreceiving the time that the first vehicle was at the first location fromthe fleet management system comprises receiving the time that the firstvehicle was at the first location from the fleet management system inresponse to at least one of: an opening of a rental contract for thefirst vehicle by the fleet management system; or a closing of the rentalcontract for the first vehicle by the fleet management system.
 19. Acomputing device, comprising: a processor configured withprocessor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:receiving a time that a first vehicle was at a first location from afleet management system; receiving a time that the first vehicle was ata second location from an on-board telematics unit of the first vehicle;determining whether the first vehicle was at the second location for apredetermined period of time before or after being at the firstlocation; increasing a confidence level of the second location beingwithin a geofence of the first location in response to determining thatthe first vehicle was at the second location for the predeterminedperiod of time before or after being at the first location; and creatingthe geofence for the first location as including the second location inresponse to determining that the first vehicle was at the secondlocation for the predetermined period of time before or after being atthe first location.